Kenya’s National AI Strategy 2025–2030: A Vision for Inclusive, Ethical, and Transformative AI
9 juin 2025
In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the global economic and social fabric, Kenya has stepped forward with a bold and strategic roadmap: the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030. This ambitious document not only outlines Kenya’s aspirations in the AI space but also provides concrete steps to ensure that technological development aligns with ethical, inclusive, and sustainable national goals.
Context and Vision
Kenya's AI strategy emerges within a broader national ambition to become a global digital innovation hub, complementing existing frameworks like the Digital Economy Blueprint and Vision 2030. The document acknowledges the transformative potential of AI in enhancing productivity, unlocking innovation, and promoting economic equity. However, it also addresses the ethical dilemmas, risks of bias, and structural inequalities that come with rapid AI deployment.
At its core, the strategy envisions “a future where AI is human-centered, trustworthy, and inclusive.”
Strategic Pillars
The strategy is built on five strategic pillars, each supported by clearly defined goals, priority actions, and timelines:
1. Policy, Legal, and Regulatory Frameworks
One of the foundational pillars of Kenya’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy is the establishment of a robust policy, legal, and regulatory framework. The strategy acknowledges that the success of AI deployment hinges not only on technological prowess but also on the existence of a trust-based governance ecosystem. To that end, Kenya proposes the creation of a National AI Governance Framework designed to guide every phase of AI’s lifecycle—from design and development to deployment and accountability. This framework is envisioned as a dynamic instrument that ensures AI systems operate ethically, transparently, and in a manner aligned with national values and development goals.
To bolster this governance framework, the strategy commits to developing specific legislation on AI ethics, algorithmic liability, data protection, and transparency standards. These legal tools aim to prevent harmful outcomes, promote accountability among developers and users, and protect citizens’ fundamental rights in a data-driven economy. Crucially, the Kenyan approach does not operate in isolation. Instead, it seeks to harmonize with international norms by referencing the OECD Principles on AI—which stress inclusiveness, robustness, and transparency—and UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, which emphasizes human rights, sustainability, and fairness.
Further strengthening its forward-thinking posture, the strategy introduces the concept of AI Regulatory Sandboxes—controlled environments where new AI systems, business models, or regulatory approaches can be tested safely before national-scale rollout. These sandboxes will enable policymakers to learn from real-world experiments, refine laws based on empirical evidence, and build stakeholder trust. By integrating legal innovation into the AI ecosystem, Kenya positions itself to respond agilely to rapid technological change while upholding ethical imperatives and democratic oversight.
2. Human Capital and Talent Development
Kenya’s demographic dividend, characterized by a young and increasingly tech-savvy population, is positioned as a strategic asset in its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030. Recognizing that a skilled and inclusive workforce is the backbone of any sustainable AI ecosystem, the strategy devotes considerable attention to human capital development, aiming to transform Kenya into a hub for AI talent and innovation in Africa.
To this end, the government proposes a comprehensive education reform, beginning at the primary level and extending through secondary and tertiary education. These reforms will embed computational thinking, machine learning concepts, data literacy, and AI ethics directly into the national curriculum. The goal is to ensure that Kenyan students, regardless of socioeconomic background, are exposed early to the foundational skills required in the AI economy.
Beyond the classroom, the strategy introduces National AI Fellowships and targeted bootcamps designed to fast-track the training of thousands of Kenyans, with an emphasis on inclusivity. Special efforts will be made to support women, youth, and marginalized communities, helping to counter existing disparities in STEM and technology fields. The fellowships will offer hands-on exposure through placements in government, academia, startups, and multinational tech partners.
In parallel, Kenya will invest in AI Research Chairs at public universities, facilitating cutting-edge research and providing mentorship for graduate and postgraduate students. These research hubs will serve not only as centers of innovation but also as bridges between academic research and practical deployment.
Importantly, Kenya’s approach is holistic, extending beyond technical disciplines to include socio-technical roles such as ethicists, legal scholars, policy analysts, and civil society leaders. This ensures that the AI ecosystem is not only technically proficient but also ethically grounded, socially responsive, and capable of guiding AI development in a direction that aligns with Kenya’s national values and human rights commitments. This inclusive strategy leverages the country's youthful energy to build a diverse and resilient AI workforce—one that reflects and serves the whole of society.
3. Data Ecosystems and Infrastructure
Recognizing that AI feeds on data, the strategy calls for:
Establishing a National Data Exchange to facilitate responsible data sharing between government, academia, and private sector.
Setting up AI-ready infrastructure including GPUs, cloud services, and distributed computing clusters in universities and research labs.
Incentivizing public-private partnerships to scale open datasets, especially in agriculture, health, finance, and environment.
By making data governance a public good, the strategy ensures data doesn’t become a source of inequality but a tool for shared prosperity.
4. Innovation and Commercialization
Kenya seeks to translate AI research into real-world impact. Proposed measures include:
Launching a National AI Innovation Fund to support early-stage startups and scale-ups.
Establishing AI Innovation Hubs in partnership with county governments, incubators, and universities.
Promoting local content development through hackathons, prizes, and AI problem-solving challenges in agriculture, climate, and public services.
Special emphasis is placed on sector-specific transformation, particularly in:
Agriculture (precision farming, crop disease prediction)
Health (diagnostics, health informatics)
Urban Mobility (traffic management, route optimization)
Education (personalized learning)
5. Inclusion, Trust, and Societal Impact
A defining feature of the Kenyan strategy is its emphasis on ethical, inclusive AI. Concrete actions proposed include:
Launching AI Literacy Campaigns across counties to demystify AI for citizens.
Developing guidelines for bias detection, especially regarding gender, disability, and ethnicity.
Encouraging public deliberation on AI through community dialogues, media, and parliamentary debate.
This ensures that AI development does not reinforce historical inequalities but becomes a tool for social justice and empowerment.
Governance and Institutional Framework
Implementation will be overseen by the National AI Steering Committee, working under the Ministry of ICT and Digital Economy. It will coordinate sectoral agencies, counties, academia, civil society, and the private sector. A Monitoring and Evaluation framework with KPIs will track progress annually.
Importantly, Kenya commits to multi-stakeholder governance, with civil society, youth, and marginalized groups having an active role in oversight and co-creation.
Conclusion: A Continental Blueprint
Kenya’s National AI Strategy 2025–2030 is more than a policy document. It is a call to action—a recognition that Africa must not be a passive consumer of AI technologies but a co-creator of its rules, values, and innovations. With its human-centered vision, practical roadmaps, and commitment to equity, Kenya offers a blueprint for AI made in Africa, by Africa, for Africa.
As AI becomes the defining infrastructure of the 21st century, Kenya’s bold and inclusive strategy ensures that no one is left behind.
Download the strategy here : Kenya AI strategy
References:
Kenya National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030, Ministry of Information, Communication and the Digital Economy, Government of Kenya.
UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (2021).
OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence (2019).
